The configuration of these boat hooks has been relatively standard for at least a hundred years. Essentially it includes an elongated handle and a head, with a hook extending laterally from head, and curved somewhat backward toward the handle. This configuration makes it possible for the user to get hold of a dock or piling, and pull his boat into position preparatory to attaching dock lines. The hook is sometimes pointed, which is the best configuration for use against piling, or it may be ball-ended where the operator is primarily interested in hooking onto other boats or objects that should not be scratched. A prod section normally extends coaxially with the handle, and on the opposite side of the handle from the hook. The prod is intended primarily to provide a push point that can be shoved into piling or dock timbers to shove the boat away from the dock, or move it around in close quarters.